Hi, this report covers my flights on the United 767-300ER, flying from Brussels to Washington Dulles and a flight on a classic Waco UPF-7 in Manteo, NC. Also included are some pictures of museums I visited on this trip.

Last year, United in ORD rebooked us to fly via CDG, instead of a direct AMS flight. We were forced to spent the day at CDG ( Flying LH, YV, UA, And Unexpectedly, KL(by CrimsonNL Nov 8 2009 in Trip Reports) ) but it did get us both $1000 dollars in travel credit for UA. They were only valid on UA flights, unfortunately no code shares. As we would be travelling on a budget, the cheapest option we could find was a BRU-IAD r/t. I had been to DC twice before, and to DCA, but not yet to IAD. Also BRU would be new. And scoring 2 767 flights for next to nothing wasn’t bad either!

My dad and I decided we we’re going to visit the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. We’d both wanted to go there for quite some time. After that we would have 5 more days until our flight back, and decided to see what we would run into along the way. We ended up going as far West as Indiana, and even visited Kittyhawk, NC and Dover, DL.

On the 12th of August we left home for a 2 hour drive to Brussels. We dropped the car at a parking, and the shuttle brought us to the airport. Before checking in we we’re questioned about our trip to the USA, and who had packed our suitcases, and some other silly questions. The guy checking us in was very friendly. Our seat selection was confirmed and we got our boarding cards. We still had about 3 hours to wait, and in an upstairs area we found some comfortable couches in a very quiet area, with great views of the ramp.

American planes, our’s had not landed yet

The upstairs area

After a while we decided to head to the gate area. Clearing security didn’t take long, and we walked into the B concourse where it was rather busy. Our plane had since arrived and was being prepped for departure. To my relief it wasn’t the same ship I had flown on last year.

Ship 6452 at the gate, looks like she could do with some paint!

When it was time to board, a security person was questioning people. He talked to me in Flemish but I just couldn’t hear what he said. He had to repeat it three times; “Did someone give anything to you?” Nope.. Upon entering the plane we were welcomed by 2 friendly flight attendants. One of them was pointing everyone to their seat. I said I could managed to find the seat myself and he replied “Oh you know the house? Welcome back!” First thing I noticed was a picture of Steven Slater in the forward galley. I thought that was pretty daring!

We were welcomed on board in three languages, being English, Dutch and French. The purser announced that the Captain’s name was Hank Williams, which made for some laughs among the pax. Everyone got settled pretty quick, and it appeared to be a full flight. We pushed back and after a short taxi we reached the departure runway. Unfortunately Channel 9 was not enabled..

Dinner service started. The choices where chicken or ravioli. I opted for the chicken. It was pretty good, however the yellow, potato like stuff, tasted very bad. The salad was very dry, I wish they had put some cucumber in there!

After the dinner service I went to the aft lavatory. There was a line so I had to wait, when one of the flight attendants there asked me if I was going home. I told him that I was going on vacation. And he looked a little surprised when I told him I was heading for Ohio haha. We started talking when another flight attendant showed up. One was French born, (he did all the French announcements) and the other one was from Dutch-Indonesia and could speak Dutch. We had a nice convo about United’s destinations and the CO merger and all. When I mentioned I worked with Lufthansa, they both said; “Oh that gets you special treatment!” One of them rushed forward to get me an amenity kit, while the other one got me a beer for free. It appeared they had brought Belgian pie on board which they happily shared with me. Another guy that was in the galley got a slice as well. When a father and a little girl asked for some snacks. One of them rushed forward to get the girl a bowl of chocolate mousse from the biz class. These guys were really putting effort in making the passengers having a good flight! By far the coolest flight attendant’s I’ve encountered on my flights.

Amenity kit

IFE, 10 points if you can guess the episode

I spent the remainder of the flight watching Iron Man 2, which IMO was even worse than part one. Nothing to see down below except a whole lot of water. One thing that was very annoying was that with every bump, the captain switched on the seatbelt sign, and the announcement to get seated was made in 3 languages. This happened multiple times during the flight without encountering any serious turbulence.

Feet dry! Over Canada

Snack service prior to landing

Aditional IFE

Only during the decent the captain made an announcement. He didn’t welcome us on board which I don’t like at all. He informed us about the WX at IAD and such. Still no channel 9..

After saying thanks and goodbye to the two awesome f/a’s, we disembarked and walked a long way into the terminal.

Bye, thanks!

At one moment we walked into the moving passenger lounges and that really made me think Oh my god, how old fashioned! On one hand it was cool to experience, on the other hand, for the capital of the USA you’d expect something nicer.. Immigrations and customs were by far the smoothest I encountered since 9/11 so that was a plus. And we got our bags within a few minutes. We headed towards the car rental where we picked up a Ford Fusion. We’d be making a lot of miles! We drove to our airport motel, the Best Western (which I can recommend) And after dropping the bags we went for a lightning visit to the NASM at IAD. We had been there before 2 years earlier, but well worth visiting again. Amazing collection.
The next day we drove 8 hours, from DC to Dayton Ohio, to visit the USAF museum. I had planned to meet fellow anetter Transpac787 there. By coincidence we had booked the same hotel, and we went to a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant.

Me on the left, Transpac787 on the right

The following day we went to the USAF museum, they had a couple of planes in their collection I just HAD to see. The B-36, Bockscar, the B-2, and of course the XB-70 Valkyrie!

XB-70

Thunderscreech, supposedly the loudest plane ever build

Ryan Vertijet

Eisenhower’s plane

Bockscar

Powerplant of the enourmous B-36

Overview of some of the planes

Outside

I don’t know how long we spent, but it was several hours of walking in the museum. Not only was I amazed by the collection, also by the huge amount of “large” people in electric scooters. I don’t think I had ever seen that many in one day. After visiting the museum we dropped off Transpac787 at DAY and said goodbye. Me and my dad went on to Lawrenceburg Indiana, so we could cross that state off our list. Turned out to be a very nice place.

The following days we drove a lot. Through the Kentucky countryside, visited the Woodford Reserve still, and ended in Charleston WV. Which I found a very boring city. Despite the huge distances we were covering, we actually made very good progress. We decided to go all the way to Kittyhawk NC, to visit the first flight monument. But before that we would drive into the West Virginia countryside, to visit Coalwood and War, which I read about in the awesome book “Rocket Boys”

War, WV was very interesting. A lot of old buildings and old cars. Very different from the image you have of the US of A. Interacting with the locals was a great experience. The next day we made it to the NC Outer Banks. It reminded me of Florida, only much less extravagant, and nicer. We had terrific weather. While stopping at a visitor center, I found a flyer for scenic rides on a classic biplane. Assuming it would be too expensive, we decided to visit Dare County Regional airport, just to have a look. The airport was very nice, the biggest planes I saw were 2 Fedex C208 feeders. We immediately noticed a beautiful classic Waco UPF-7. In my ongoing quest to score as many classics as affordable, we went into the office to inquire about the fee’s. The staff at Barrier Island Aviation was very laidback and friendly. They told us the two of us could fit in the front seat, and we found a 20 minute ride to be quite affordable. We signed up and they asked us; “Are you ready to go now?” The pilot was somewhere in the hangar and turned out to be a great guy. He had some stuff to do and asked us to wait for a moment, which I used to make some pictures of the old lady.

The plane

Continental W-670

Plane in front of the hangar

When the pilot returned, we climbed into the front seat. It was a tight fit haha. He explained to us not to touch any of the controls, or the rudder pedals. And we put on leather pilot hats with glasses.

It was very hot outside, and the plane had been out in the sun all of the time. The engine started without hesitation, and we taxied to the active. We had noise cancelling headphones on, as the engine sound was very loud. We could hear the ATC over the headphones. It was my first flight on a plane with an open cockpit, so I was very excited.

Take off roll was very short, and we soon floated away. The heat coming from the engine was very hot, and without the glasses you wouldn’t have been able to see anything!

Outer Banks

Love this view, over the cowling
Or this, the landing gear!

Wing

One of the first things we saw while flying over Kill Devil Hills was a USCG Hercules. We flew over the first flight memorial, and then South along the shore. The pilot told us he saw a large school of fish, and made some incredibly tight turns over it so we got some great views.

While taxiing back to the stand, I took off the helmet and enjoyed the loud engine sound for a moment. On the stand we made a 360 degrees turn, and we disembarked. Block time was well over 20 minutes.

Pilot seat

One last look, goodbye beautiful!

After the flight we had a chat with the pilot, he was a very nice guy, and (I’m quoting) the proud owner, of the Waco. I ended up buying an awesome Tshirt with an image of the plane on the back.

Later that day, he was doing another flight

First flight monument, they made a very nice memorial park
After that we headed North, stayed in Elizabeth city, and the next day we made it to Norfolk. We decided to take a tour of the Naval Station, which turned out to be very interesting. Some very nice ships were docked.

The George Bush (I think)

I think this was the Eisenhower

The next day would be the day we’d be flying back to BRU. However as the flight was only at 3PM, we decided to squeeze in a visit to the AMC museum at the Dover AFB, in Delaware. Well worth a visit, great collection of heavy transporters, and a lot of action at the adjacent AFB.

My favorite plane, the Boeing B-17

KC-97

Starlifter, you could actually go inside it

Galaxy’s at the AFB

More C-17s in a row then you’ll ever see I guess!

The C-119, one of my favorites as well

And of course the massive C-124

After that it was finally time to head back. In the last half hour, after driving over 2000 miles, we almost had a Buick crash into us because the (bad word) behind the wheel was talking on his phone. After dropping off the car we headed back to IAD. The main terminal was pretty nice. I didn’t really get the checkin process. At the desk, you had to check in yourself at a kiosk. The kiosk printed a reservation card, which you then gave to the agent, standing directly behind the kiosk. She labeled the bags and got us our boarding cards. What a waste of paper, printing the reservation while the agent is just there! We headed downstairs to the security area. Where for a change all the posts were manned. Even though it was busy it didn’t take long. We got onto another people carrier and were driven to the concourse.

The concourse was very busy, and hardly had any windows. This is the only picture I could make of the plane.

Flight info, I wish we had this at AMS.

While waiting at the gate, we saw a familiar face boarding the plane. It was Captain Hank Williams again. We made our way on board, only to find some incredibly annoying Belgian folks sitting in front of us. One half of the party was in the A/B seats, the other in the J/K seats. While everyone was boarding they were just standing in the aisle screaming to each other.

Hardly visible, but this was JFK, and we got a good view of NYC as well

Pretzels were distributed, and I remembered to order cranapple juice, so I’d get the whole can.

Delta’s Habitat for Humanity plane. I run into her everywhere I go

Dinner service, it was alright. No desert though, only some crackers..

Sunset

Last rays of sunlight

At first I tried to get some sleep, but failed as usual. I watched the latest Shrek movie (I’d seen the previous three on three different USA-AMS flights) but did not really like it. After that I watched another action movie, with Orlando Bloom, it was so bad I forgot the name! I had a quick chat with some of the crew in the aft galley, who were again very nice. In all a pretty eventless flight.

Breakfast, yoghurt and a pastry with a horrific artificial banana flavor. The coffee was acceptable

Sunrise over London

Cabin

Dry feet over Belgium

Over Belgium the first officer informed us about wx at BRU. I really appreciate it if one of the cockpit crew members welcomes you on board at the beginning of the flight, but this wasn’t the case on these flights. At least they weren’t turning the seatbelt sign on every 5 minutes.

Unfortunately no windows at the BRU arrivals area, so I never got a good exterior shot of the plane. After we docked we walked through immigrations in seconds, and after about 10 minutes the bags dropped on the belt. All that lasted was a 2 hour drive home.

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Conclusions

This was my 8th trip to the USA. I still think it’s a great country for vacations. We did some off-beat destinations again, instead of the usual touristic stuff where most Europeans go. Next year I’m probably heading East for a change though! I can definitely recommend the museums I mentioned in this report.

UAUA Was definitely a better experience then last time. But that was mainly because of the crew. The 767 interiors are decent, though it’s a shame they didn’t include AVOD in the cabin refurbishing if you ask me. We got to fly for next to nothing thanks to the vouchers On time performance was good and no real complaints. The 767 was great as always.

BRU/IAD
I was pleasantly surprised by BRU. Well organized and modern. We found everything in no time and security and immigrations were a breeze. I can’t say the same for IAD. What a disgrace for a city as DC. The main terminal is nice but it all goes downhill in the UA concourses. People movers? Come on!

Waco UPF-7
It’s hard to explain how cool this flight was. You really need to do it yourself, the heat, smell, vibrations, just amazing! 68 years old and still going strong. Now that’s quality!

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I hope you enjoyed the report, as usual all remarks and replies are appreciated!

Regards, Martijn

[Edited 2010-09-20 04:55:53]

Nothing's worse then flying the same registration twice, except flying it 4 times..

Very nice TR Martijn, that trip on the Waco did look rather interesting, and yeah I would've been a bit disappointed if the only thing I heard from the Captain was a descent announcement it's part of the whole experience having numerous announcements from the Captain/FO IMO.

Hi Martijn, enjoyable report from you. I visited the Dayton USAF museum about a decade ago, but still have fond memories of it. I hope to stop by again some day.
What UAL offered looks mediocre at best to me. Not the most palatable airline meals I've seen to date... no warm second meal or dessert is rather disappointing. On the other hand, nice to see an amenity kit in Economy class.

'He resembled a pilot, which to a seaman is trustworthiness personified.' Joseph Conrad

Good trip report. Really cool pics of the planes. Especially of the Waco.

Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter):The 767 interiors are decent, though it’s a shame they didn’t include AVOD in the cabin refurbishing if you ask me.

If you think UA is bad in the 767 for seat back entertainment. You should try their 747 for a pacific flight (talking about Australia to USA). Don't even get tvs let alone AVOD. Still those old screens on the bulkhead which means if you get stuck behind someone tall, you get to see nothing. Ick! I think I also got dud crew for my flights as some of the staff on these legs should have retired ages ago.

Great report and fantastic pictures! You visited so many aviation-related sights, some of them not very well-known but obviously worth a visit - amazing how many aviation museums you can find in the USA.

The Waco UPF-7 flight must have been something really spacial - your pictures are amazing.

Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter):I had been to DC twice before, and to DCA, but not yet to IAD. Also BRU would be new. And scoring 2 767 flights for next to nothing wasn’t bad either!

Sounds like enough reasons to go.

Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter):One of them rushed forward to get me an amenity kit, while the other one got me a beer for free. It appeared they had brought Belgian pie on board which they happily shared with me. Another guy that was in the galley got a slice as well. When a father and a little girl asked for some snacks. One of them rushed forward to get the girl a bowl of chocolate mousse from the biz class. These guys were really putting effort in making the passengers having a good flight! By far the coolest flight attendant’s I’ve encountered on my flights.

Really outstanding. A great cabin crew can really make the difference for an enjoyable flight, even if all other factors of the flight should be just average.

Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter):When I mentioned I worked with Lufthansa, they both said; “Oh that gets you special treatment!” One of them rushed forward to get me an amenity kit, while the other one got me a beer for free

Nice one!

Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter):These guys were really putting effort in making the passengers having a good flight! By far the coolest flight attendant’s I’ve encountered on my flights.

Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter):These guys were really putting effort in making the passengers having a good flight! By far the coolest flight attendant’s I’ve encountered on my flights.

Yeh I love it when you have crew like that, really goes the extra mile.

Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter):The following day we went to the USAF museum, they had a couple of planes in their collection I just HAD to see. The B-36, Bockscar, the B-2, and of course the XB-70 Valkyrie!

The legroom on UA Y is a tight 31" . On CO 767s it's 32" but I hope that after the merger they won't ruin it with their 31" Y and premium Y cabin.

US airlines do not serve deserts to Europe; if you are lucky you may get one to the USA westbound. And they just loooove serving loads and loads and loads of lettuce. They are very generous when it comes to lettuce. Nice big portions.
You were lucky to get a TWIX bar. I got MARS which I hate.

The only thing that keeps me flying on US airlines are the Frequent Flyer Programs which are more generous than many foreign airlines.

Your video of the old plane was fantastic. I would love to go on one. I tried once but the line was too long.

Quoting TwoSevenRight (Reply 1):I would've been a bit disappointed if the only thing I heard from the Captain was a descent announcement it's part of the whole experience having numerous announcements from the Captain/FO IMO.

Yeah I mean it's a small effort, and I really like it if they do. It's just polite I guess.

Haha the reg was very hard to read. Can't fool an expert anetter like me though!

Quoting travelR (Reply 6):I think I also got dud crew for my flights as some of the staff on these legs should have retired ages ago.

That's my usual experience when it comes to American carriers. I encountered that a lot on NW and on my last UA flight. On the outbound leg there was one man that was definitely near his seventies though.

! The UA 950/951 service! I have taken that exact flight maybe 9-12x(round trip) when I lived in Brussels for 6 years! BRU will always be one of my favorite airports with the wingtips restaurant, and great plane spotting opportunities on short final.

Thank you for sharing with us your trip. It looks like you had an absolutely fantastic time in the US! And, got to see some great things!

I will make one correction. the GW carrier, is not stationed in norfolk. But, Yokosuka, Japan. When the carriers are in, that massive parking lot is dedicated for those ships... ONLY. And, they have their own shopping and gym etc... as each of them have 5000+ sailors, it just has to be done.

Did you get a chance to go to Oceana? They have tons of fighters training around the clock, and there is quite a show on VA beach, as well as on the perimeter road.

I can't stand much about UA other than the 6' creature that wonders the galleys on select flights, but your report was great!. The food did look pretty terrible.

Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter):When I mentioned I worked with Lufthansa, they both said; “Oh that gets you special treatment!” One of them rushed forward to get me an amenity kit, while the other one got me a beer for free.

Surprised @ UA.

Few times on AA I couldn't get an upgrade and had attendants take care of me back in Y. There are still some out there that take care of their own!

Anyhow, glad to meet up finally!! Hope you enjoyed the museums. It's always a major bummer they only allow you like 45 minutes in the R&D and Presidential hangers, I could spend all day out there. Always love seeing the Thunderscreech!!

The museum in Dover - did they let you go inside the KC-97??

Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter):Pretzels were distributed, and I remembered to order cranapple juice, so I’d get the whole can.

Looking over my logbook, I see I rode UA 767-322 back in 10/2006. She was in the new scheme then, and no telling how long she had the new blue look by then. So, no surprise that the paint may be peeling by now!

A common theme in UA trip reports is the primitive video and entertainment. Maybe the merger will sort that out and bring something competetive.

Many thanks for a interesting trip report that so differs from the ordinary. The initial reference to the Waco drew my attention and I was surprised to see a visit to the USAF Museum on the docket. Living just a bit more than two hours west of Dayton, I've visited this museum twice a year for the last decade and never tire of going. If my wife and young son would allow it, I'd be more than happy to spend an entire weekend there.

Your flight on the Waco reminds me of a similar experience I had several years ago at the Dayton Airshow. I took advantage of an opportunity to fly in a New Standard biplane that was originally built in 1929. To this day I vividly recall our departure being paused to allow an F117 to taxi past and the odd feeling of holding short while a 737 waited behind us and commercial traffic landed not far from my windscreen.

Look forward to reading more of your adventures.

This isn't flying. This is falling.....with style.

25 BA319-131
: Hi Martijn, Very nice report and pictures, that museum sure looked a great place to visit, must remember it! - I have to say this and your other meals

26 CrimsonNL
: Hey guys! You and me both! Very impressive! That's even more special then this one. I noticed only 7 of those remain airworthy! You really should, its

27 MSS658
: Nice to see a transatlantic report from Brussels! Hope I can make it to fly UA once before they completely merge in CO.

28 LH4116
: Hi Martijn, great report! I was very surprised that UA offered such great service on their long haul flights, the food looked very generous, both on t

29 CrimsonNL
: Hey guys Only two destinations to choose from though They were pretty good, but during taxi the engine noise wasn't too bad. Can't really tell for in